Horwill speaks for Australia. Watch out!

The Wallabies will come out fast tomorrow because they must check Lions’ momentum

Friday 28 June 2013 08:58 BST

I was shocked and disappointed to hear that Wallabies Kurtley Beale and James O’Connor had been to a fast food outlet at 4am in the build-up to the biggest game of their rugby lives.

Regardless of the fact that the following day was free, you don’t want the management and coaches dealing with such behaviour. It is fair to say that most of the players wouldn’t have put themselves in that position.

That is why it was so heartening to hear Wallaby captain James Horwill speaking so impressively yesterday here in Melbourne about the mood in the dressing room after the First Test loss. With all the things that happened to the team in the match, they still put themselves in the position to win with the late kick and Horwill said the players couldn’t wait to learn from that experience and get to this Second Test and square the series.

It was good to hear that kind of positive attitude from the captain rather than details of what those other two players did in the early hours because they don’t represent the whole team; Horwill does.

What it said to me was that the Wallabies’ mindset is in the right place going into this hugely important match which is so similar to the situation we were in after losing the opening test match to the Lions in 2001 in Brisbane.

The second test is always vital because one team know that if they get it right on the night then the series is won while the other side are fighting for survival and could turn everything around and head into the third clash in Sydney with real momentum.

Having Horwill available, after he was cited in the First Test, is very important. What happened with Alun Wyn Jones in Brisbane looked clumsy rather than anything else. Horwill is not that kind of player.

For the Lions, losing Paul O’Connell from the second row is a big blow as he inspires the team by his actions. He is the northern hemisphere’s version of Springbok great Victor Matfield.

Twelve years ago in the dressing room in Brisbane we sat down and reflected on a First-Test defeat that was even bigger than the 29-13 scoreline that appeared on the scoreboard because the Lions blew us away. They beat us in all aspects and as a group, even though we were very experienced, we realised it was a very important lesson. It emphasised to all of the Wallaby players the need to start with real intensity because the Lions deliver that every match.

It comes from the Lions’ pride in wearing that red jersey and if you give them a lead, they are really good front-runners. The Lions feed off their amazing fans and the momentum just keeps on building and that is why the Wallabies have to be fast out of the blocks tomorrow.

To be honest, in Melbourne in 2001 we could have been in big trouble at half-time but managed to go in trailing just 11-6 and the attitude in our dressing room was very positive.

The pressure we felt was like being in a semi-final of a World Cup where victory would give you the opportunity to compete for the trophy in what becomes a final and that made it big.

We knew we had 40 minutes to deliver our rugby and we finally got in front after more than two hours of chasing the Lions — and it changed the whole series.

But is there enough experience in this Wallaby team to turn it around this time? I believe there is because players like Horwill have been in big finals, are getting better at handling pressure games and the team are growing together.

It is very important for the way the Wallabies want to play that Christian Leali’ifano is fit again — he was injured in the first minute in Brisbane — because his ball-playing skills help get the back three players into the game.

As they did last week, the Wallabies will play off Will Genia, moving the ball wide and allowing both wings and full-back to use the space created.

I was really proud of how the Wallabies stayed in the First Test despite all of those injuries and it will be vital they keep all of the starting XV on the pitch to allow the team to deliver the gameplan they intend to bring to the match.

This is going to be another outstanding Test match. It will be another tight one with the Wallabies taking it into a decider in Sydney.

George Gregan is an HSBC ambassador. Follow the Lions’ Legendary Journey with HSBC’s interactive experience at youtube.com/LionsHSBC